As I have been telling people for a while now, when we last hit our dodgy patch of form earlier in the season, it was the game at home against Bristol Rovers which brought the team together again and instilled a sense of belief in the players. Those two minutes at the end of the game where Matty Fryatt scored two goals to turn the game on it's head kick started our winning streak and propelled us to the top of the table where we remained ever since. Now, on the back of a number of draws, we find ourselves in that position again where some fans are starting to nervously look over their shoulders at what the other teams are doing behind us. Scenarios are being drawn out based on what would happen if Millwall and MK Dons were to beat us in coming weeks... 19 games unbeaten and we're still nervous! To be a football fan eh? Boy did we need a win... does lightning strike twice though?
So much for the lie ins of recent weeks on this saturday as I was up and about early as if I was heading into the office for the day. With no lift coming my way, I headed over to Syston train station for the quick journey into the city centre only to find that the train didn't seem to want to arrive. After waiting for 15 minutes I got bored and jumped onto the bus and made my way to the Walkers that way to meet up with Jodie, Chloe and Bert. Turns out that Jobber was on the coach too so laughs were guarenteed on the journey.... when we finally departed.
The journey was pretty good really - didn't seem to take too long as we had the good company to keep us going along with a dvd of leicester goals from down the years to keep us entertained. Alan also brought along some of his souvenirs from his years of following City including some of the special items that were for sale to celebrate us reaching the FA Cup final back in the 60s... must be worth a fortune. Also turns out that he was one of the lucky people to have been at Wembley in 1966 to see England beat Germany in the World Cup final - he is my new hero! Also on the journey we briefly bumped into Katy (Titch) and little Ella (Midge) at the services on the way to Ella's first away league game.
We arrived at the ground in decent time and the tractor outside the ground was possibly the most sterotypical thing I've ever seen at football having heard the accent of some of the locals.
The four of us headed off in search of a pre-game pub only to discover that they were all home fans only so we had plenty of time to kill as we made our way back towards the Memorial ground with those three going in whilst I waited for Katy and Ella to arrive and had a quick look round at what is quite a unique ground.
They wern't too far away and we had a quick natter but due to the large support, the fans were split into two sections with some standing in the open terrace and others in the seating behind the goal. Naturally, I was on the terraces as it's the best way to watch football and gather with friends, Katy however was heading over to the seating along with others who hadn't managed to swap tickets over.... although many people managed to sneak over later with stories of owing money or having keys belonging to other people... sneaky!
Above is the view that Katy had of us in the terrace before she moved over.... and below is the view we had of her in the seating. I think it's safe to say that the sun drenched terrace was the place to be!
Within minutes of me meeting up with the three I travelled with in the ground, we were joined by lots of others from the Foxestalk website including all the usual suspects along with a few extras who I hadn't seen around for a while. Lil'Dave though insisted on sitting on the barrier in the terrace - which is ironic as he refuses to sit when there are seats provided! He appeared to be in a contemplative mood ahead of the crucial game though.
With the banter and laughs filling the terrace, combined with the stories of Paris, the players making their way onto the pitch seemed to be almost a distraction to the gathering of people. This soon changed though as the first chants filled the air, a decent noise considering the lack of a roof.
Both teams cancelled themselves out in the first 10 minutes or so and we amused ourselves keeping Ella entertained seeing as she had gone off the thought of watching a game thanks to the lack of Max Gradel on the pitch. This turned into quite the activity as everyone joined in, especially Alex who dedicated most of the second half to playing catch with a cuddly Filbert Fox. I also managed to spot Helen in the crowd after she'd had a long journey to Bristol thanks to trains not running as they should be.
Back to the match though and the first chance of any real note came around the 20 minute mark when Kerrea Gilbert fired a long range effort way over the bar. Two minutes later though, and City had the lead. A long Oakley free kick was headed on by Howard and Fryatt was in quickly to volley the ball over the keeper. A great finish from the man who has found goals hard to come by in the last couple of months.
Bristol rarely put together any decent chances and instead we took to having some fun with some of their players. Chants of "There's only one decent Lescott" when Aaron Lescott came over to take a throw in. He's a decent player but will never reach the standards set by his brother at Everton.
A couple of long range efforts from Fryatt and Lloyd Dyer nearly found the corner of the net. That was it though for the first half and the teams went off to good applause as we all gathered together once more in the sun with Helen finding her way over to us too.
Chloe's lucky hat was proudly on display by Bert again - never lost in the league when that has been in attendance apparently... never lose him in the crowd!
And Lil' Dave actually stumped up and paid for some food at the ground - I don't think I've ever seen that!
The second half started slowly once more with both sides cancelling each other out but 10 minutes in, Bristol Rovers were awarded a penalty after Jack Hobbs brought down Duffy in the area. It was a clumsy challenge at worst as the ball bobbled on the crap pitch and we were shocked to see the red card brandished and you just got that sense that it was a case of "here we go again." Top scorer in the league, Lambert, stepped up to take it but Bunn got down brilliantly to save it. The power on the shot would normally have been enough to see it in but it was a great save and the celebrations were as if we'd scored a second with people ending up on the floor in the huddle.
City saw the final few minutes out without any real danger though and were soon celebraing another away win as the sun started to set over the stands and the players came across to show their appreciation of our support. Players and fans - this season, we are as one! They play for us and we travel everywhere to watch them.
This was a massive result for us and we celebrated long after the final whistle had sounded.
As we all said our goodbyes until the next game, Fez, Alex, Ella and Katy were left in the stadium chatting and probably still throwing Filbert about between them. Poor thing!
We piled back onto the coaches, all checking the scores and cheers rang out as news spread that the results had gone our way and the lead at the top was extended further still before heading off out of the car park, waving at all the locals on the way. The memorial stadium is a very unique stadium but it once again will provide memories of a great day out on the league one tour.
For the first time in a while at an way game, I dozed off on the way back to the Walkers, exhausted from the early start and the fun on the terraces. I think it's hard to imagine anything better than being on a terrace in the sunshine, watching the team you love surrounded by people with the same ideals. 800 people standing there, all singing together and having fun, united in their will to win and have fun. That's what league one seems to be about - proper football, proper fans, proper fun. Next week - top of the table clash as first take on second: MK Dons v Leicester... tense!
Back to the match though and the first chance of any real note came around the 20 minute mark when Kerrea Gilbert fired a long range effort way over the bar. Two minutes later though, and City had the lead. A long Oakley free kick was headed on by Howard and Fryatt was in quickly to volley the ball over the keeper. A great finish from the man who has found goals hard to come by in the last couple of months.Bristol rarely put together any decent chances and instead we took to having some fun with some of their players. Chants of "There's only one decent Lescott" when Aaron Lescott came over to take a throw in. He's a decent player but will never reach the standards set by his brother at Everton.
A couple of long range efforts from Fryatt and Lloyd Dyer nearly found the corner of the net. That was it though for the first half and the teams went off to good applause as we all gathered together once more in the sun with Helen finding her way over to us too.
Chloe's lucky hat was proudly on display by Bert again - never lost in the league when that has been in attendance apparently... never lose him in the crowd!
And Lil' Dave actually stumped up and paid for some food at the ground - I don't think I've ever seen that!
The second half started slowly once more with both sides cancelling each other out but 10 minutes in, Bristol Rovers were awarded a penalty after Jack Hobbs brought down Duffy in the area. It was a clumsy challenge at worst as the ball bobbled on the crap pitch and we were shocked to see the red card brandished and you just got that sense that it was a case of "here we go again." Top scorer in the league, Lambert, stepped up to take it but Bunn got down brilliantly to save it. The power on the shot would normally have been enough to see it in but it was a great save and the celebrations were as if we'd scored a second with people ending up on the floor in the huddle. With Hobbs off, Pearson brought Morisson on for Dyer and we looked to ensure that we were solid at the back and could see off the threat from Bristol... but we need not have worried as they offered very little going forward and couldn't breach the best defence in the league.
In fact, if any teams was going to add to the scoreline, it looked like it would be us as Cleverly missed a great chance when through on goal with his shot lacking any real power or direction. Fryatt missed a similar chance when a quick counter attack left him through on goal but he wasted the chance when he should have played it across for Howard.
Meanwhile Howard and the Bristol keeper were having some heated words after a strong challenge from the Leicester striker. Howard stood his ground and told the keeper to come over and say those things to his face but he didn't have the back bone for that much to the delight of our fans. "Howard's gonna get ya" was soon ringing out everytime the ball was in the keepers hands and he seemed to be getting quite rattled by it. After his shameful time wasting at the Walkers Stadium earlier this season, it was nice to have had the final say on the matter.
City saw the final few minutes out without any real danger though and were soon celebraing another away win as the sun started to set over the stands and the players came across to show their appreciation of our support. Players and fans - this season, we are as one! They play for us and we travel everywhere to watch them.
This was a massive result for us and we celebrated long after the final whistle had sounded.
As we all said our goodbyes until the next game, Fez, Alex, Ella and Katy were left in the stadium chatting and probably still throwing Filbert about between them. Poor thing!
We piled back onto the coaches, all checking the scores and cheers rang out as news spread that the results had gone our way and the lead at the top was extended further still before heading off out of the car park, waving at all the locals on the way. The memorial stadium is a very unique stadium but it once again will provide memories of a great day out on the league one tour.
For the first time in a while at an way game, I dozed off on the way back to the Walkers, exhausted from the early start and the fun on the terraces. I think it's hard to imagine anything better than being on a terrace in the sunshine, watching the team you love surrounded by people with the same ideals. 800 people standing there, all singing together and having fun, united in their will to win and have fun. That's what league one seems to be about - proper football, proper fans, proper fun. Next week - top of the table clash as first take on second: MK Dons v Leicester... tense!
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